ALOR GAJAH: A factory worker was sentenced to maximum of 24 years in prison and 20 strokes of rotan after the Sessions Court here heard accounts of his gruesome rape and sodomy of a 12-year old girl.
The full force of justice was swiftly executed upon Muhamed Firdaus Kazi Mohammed Ismail after he pleaded guilty to the two charges – under Section 377C of the Penal Code for forcefully committing unnatural sex (sodomy) and Section 376 (2) of the Penal Code for rape.
Muhamed Firdaus pleaded guilty to committing the crime on March 23, just five days after his 21st birthday, which rendered him a fully responsible adult, annulling the option of treatment under more lenient social welfare laws.
Judge Wan Mohd Norisham Wan Yaakob was livid in his expression as he handed down the sentence, noting that Muhamed Firdaus needed to be made an example for others who harbour intentions of repeating such a crime.
“Your victim was 12-years old. She was just a child and you have left an indelible mark that will haunt her for the rest of her life. She had cried, tried to fend you off and begged you not to harm her, which you have admitted yourself,” Wan Mohd Norisham said in reading out the verdict.
“In your plea too, you had shown no remorse,” the judge added, recounting Muhamed Firdaus’ plea for lenience as he stood in the dock, dressed in purple police lock-up attire, that he had two younger siblings who were in school and an unemployed father.
“Even then, you were thinking only of yourself and showed no empathy for the victim and the impact your deeds have on her.”
The court heard the facts of the case, which Muhamed Firdaus had admitted when read out to him, where he had at 10pm on March 23 went to the victim’s house where she was with her aunt collecting laundry strung on their porch.
Muhamed Firdaus had known the victim since she was a child as his aunt lived two doors away and he had gone on that night to first ask the victim’s aunt to accompany him to fetch his grandmother, which she declined, before the victim agreed.
He had then taken the victim on his motorcycle to a secluded road in Paya Rumput, where he had stopped his motorcycle, saying that the engine was overheated before undressing himself.
He admitted to have use a sharp object to threaten the victim, stating: “Do you want to live or die?” before first sodomising her and then raping her, by overpowering her despite her efforts to fend him off by biting, kicking him and begging him for mercy. The doctor’s report from the Malacca Hospital where the victim was later treated, also confirmed that Muhamed Firdaus had bitten the victim’s buttocks and caused vaginal and anal tears to the victim.
Earlier, in calling for the maximum sentence to be brought upon Muhamed Firdaus, deputy public prosecutor Nabilah Nizam raised facts of the case and the victim’s impact statement (VIS) to push her point through.
“He had brought immense psychological trauma upon the victim. I wish to raise this VIS to make that point clear. The victim has stated that as a result of this, she now lives in fear of men. She is having sleepless nights as the trauma plays in her mind,” said Nabilah.
“This is something that she will live with for the rest of her life. The judgement should be a message to the public on how serious an impact such deeds have caused and a deterrent to those who wish to repeat such crimes.”
Muhamed Firdaus, who was not represented, was sentenced to 12 years in prison and 10 lashes of the rotan for the first charge and 12 years with another 10 lashes for the second charge, to be carried out separately.